Editing Sword (section)

=====Early and High Middle Ages=====
{{Further|Knightly sword|Longsword|Viking sword}}
[[File:Morgan-bible-fl-29.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Battle scene from the [[Morgan Bible of Louis IX]] showing 13th-century swords]]

During the [[Middle Ages]], sword technology improved, and the sword became a very advanced weapon. The [[spatha]] type remained popular throughout the [[Migration period]] and well into the Middle Ages. [[Vendel Age]] spathas were decorated with Germanic artwork (not unlike the Germanic [[bracteate]]s fashioned after Roman coins). The [[Viking Age]] saw again a more standardized production, but the basic design remained indebted to the spatha.<ref>Laing, Lloyd Robert (2006). ''The archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. CE 400–1200''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 93–95. {{ISBN|0-521-54740-7}}</ref>

Around the 10th century, the use of properly quenched [[Hardened steel|hardened]] and [[Tempering (metallurgy)|tempered steel]] started to become much more common than in previous periods. The [[Franks|Frankish]] [[Ulfberht swords|'Ulfberht' blades]] (the name of the maker inlaid in the blade) were of particularly consistent high quality.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405283023 |url-access=registration |quote=Ulfberht. |title=Writing society and culture in early Rus, c. 950–1300 |access-date=14 November 2010 |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405283023/page/109 109] |first=Simon |last=Franklin |isbn=978-0-511-03025-3 }}</ref> [[Charles the Bald]] tried to prohibit the export of these swords, as they were used by [[Vikings]] in raids against the [[Franks]].

[[Wootz steel]] (which is also known as [[Damascus steel]]) was a unique and highly prized steel developed on the Indian subcontinent as early as the 5th century BC. Its properties were unique due to the special smelting and reworking of the steel creating networks of iron carbides described as a globular [[cementite]] in a matrix of [[pearlite]]. The use of Damascus steel in swords became extremely popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.{{#tag:ref|"Pattern-Welding and Damascening of Sword-Blades: Part 1 Pattern-Welding" ([[Herbert Maryon|Maryon]] 1960)<ref name="Maryon">{{cite journal|last1=Maryon|first1=Herbert|author-link=Herbert Maryon|title=Pattern-Welding and Damascening of Sword-Blades: Part 1 Pattern-Welding|journal=Studies in Conservation|date=February 1960|volume=5|issue=1|pages=25–37|doi=10.2307/1505063|jstor=1505063}}</ref>{{paragraph break}}A brief review article by the originator of the term "pattern-welding" accurately details all the salient points of the construction of pattern-welded blades and of how all the patterns observed result as a function of the depth of grinding into a twisted rod structure. The article also includes a brief description of pattern-welding as encountered in the Malay keris. Damascus steel is also known as watered steel.|group=nb}}<ref name="Maryon"/>

It was only from the 11th century that [[Normans|Norman]] swords began to develop the [[crossguard]] (quillons). During the [[Crusades]] of the 12th to 13th century, this [[Cruciform#Cruciform sword|cruciform]] type of [[arming sword]] remained essentially stable, with variations mainly concerning the shape of the [[Hilt#Pommel|pommel]]. These swords were designed as cutting weapons, although effective points were becoming common to counter improvements in armour, especially the 14th-century change from [[Mail (armour)|mail]] to [[plate armour]].<ref>Jeep, John M. (2001). ''Medieval Germany: an encyclopedia''. Routledge. p. 802, {{ISBN|0-8240-7644-3}}</ref>

It was during the 14th century, with the growing use of more advanced armour, that the hand and a half sword, also known as a "[[Classification of swords#Longsword|bastard sword]]", came into being. It had an extended grip that meant it could be used with either one or two hands. Though these swords did not provide a full two-hand grip they allowed their wielders to hold a [[shield]] or parrying dagger in their off hand, or to use it as a two-handed sword for a more powerful blow.<ref name=Gravett>Gravett, p. 47</ref>

In the Middle Ages, the sword was often used as a symbol of the [[Logos (Christianity)|word of God]]. The names given to many swords in [[mythology]], [[literature]], and [[history]] reflected the high prestige of the weapon and the wealth of the owner.<ref>{{cite book |first=Juan Eduardo |last=Cirlot |year=2002 |title=A Dictionary of Symbols |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |pages=323–25 |isbn=978-0-486-42523-8}}</ref>